The Greatest Leaders are defined by Principles and guided by Conscience.

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Valdis Dombrovskis, Former Latvian Prime Minister

Last November 21, the roof of a supermarket in Riga, Latvia collapsed claiming 54 lives while injuring dozens. This was the beginning of the end for Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis and his government.

And to add salt to injury, President Andris Berzins even called the disaster a “murder.” Oh, sounds political, huh?

And because of this tragedy, the whole Latvian entourage had to quit to take “political responsibility” for the disaster.

Hmm… being a human being, I’d be glad of the Prime Minister’s decision to step down, though that’s just an initial reaction. See, for any government that fails its people, its citizens would naturally call for their leaders’ resignation. In this case, the family and friends of those who got hurt and lost their lives in this collapse would certainly demand their leaders’ heads – especially in the heat of the moment. It’s expected.

Supermarket tragedy in Latvia

However, if you’re not relatively close to the victims, you’d be more objective of course. That’s natural. Still, if one is a true patriot, he would definitely look deeper into the issue. Who was the official that was really in-charge of the building’s construction? How did everything go about? Why not just fire him instead? Why not hold all those directly responsible for the construction accountable? Isn’t Dombrovskis several layers up the chart? In many countries, there are these departments that handle these things.

And oh, was Dombrovskis an incompetent leader that one disaster should merit his ouster? Or how many “disasters” has his government witnessed anyway? How did he handle them? Wasn’t there any way that such could have been prevented or, so much so repeated? And more so, what were his accomplishments? His plans and actions? Wasn’t he responsible for leading Latvia to the European Union’s fastest economic growth? See, we got to be a little more balanced in our thinking.

If the “negatives” are just far too heavy compared to the positives – then the resignations are worth it.

Nevertheless, though rejoicing on the ouster of a leader may seem a good thing to many, think about this… since he quit on his own volition, Dombrovskis must really be sincere in his service, right? Hey, only few politicians are “sincere” in these times – so, if you are a constituent, you might want to consider recalling him instead. Hard?

Okay, yes, we are saddened by the deaths and injuries. But at the end of the day, not just a smart but a conscientious Leader is what truly matters. And that’s what Valdis Dombrovskis has shown when he stepped down.